Wonderland
by Duchess Bathilda Hunnywagon
Summary: This is one of my older short stories when I published things on DeviantArt. Actually this is my very first short story. Alice's world is collapsing in on itself as Alice falls deeper and deeper into insanity!
1. Part 1- The Fable

**Wonderland  
**  
Her blond hair stuck to her head with the dried blood that seeped form the wound in her forehead, the fantasy world she once knew and loved now a distant memory.  
She sat at the long winding table covered with cups and saucers, teapots and cakes from a tea party that had long since passed.  
Hosted by a man long since dead.  
But she couldn't help coming back to this place.  
It was the one place she felt safe, the one place where she could get away from it all.  
Drugs, that's what the doctors blamed…that's all anyone blamed.  
The drugs, the needles, the pills, they never thought to wonder that maybe it was their constant pestering, their accusations, that brought her to insanity.  
As if she knew how the knife had come to her hand and found the necks of her family members, though she knew one thing; she knew their questions were not going to uncover some hidden mystery.  
Maybe this was her punishment.  
The destruction of the one place she felt safe.  
She looked at the hare's mangled corpse displayed in a ritualistic fashion in the centre of the table.  
Why did it have to come to this?  
Here of all places?  
And why, did she feel so satisfied, with the knowledge that she was to die here.  
The fire surrounded her, smoke blocked out the once beautiful sky of Wonderland.  
The metal boots of the red knights could be heard approaching the table.  
She took a sip from a chipped white tea cup and placed it back down on its saucer.  
It was cold…  
"Why is a raven like a writing desk?" she mumbled to herself, trying to recapture an image from her forgotten past, when she was truly happy, when this place could be called 'Wonderland'.  
She heard the metal stomp on the barren ground behind her.  
She let out a sigh of relief.  
It was over.  
And it was on her terms.  
The hand in red armour rested on her shoulder as if forced her onto the table, she looked up to see the executioner, he had a strong build, you'd have to be to carry that giant heart shaped axe.  
Several soldiers gathered around the executioner to prevent her escape.  
Like she'd want to escape this approaching paradise.  
To her surprise she saw amongst the crowd the pale, frail figure of the Queen of Hearts herself.  
Her blood red hair ran down her back, her crown resting lazily upon the top of her head.  
"Off with her head!" she said with a grin, stretching her lips in an unnatural fashion, something they had not done in a long time, resulting in parts of the lip ripping open.  
The blond haired girl returned her attention to the muscle bond executioner as he moved the once beautiful blond hair from her slender, pale neck.  
He raised the axe high into the smoke filled sky.  
The girl smiled, a tear trickled down her face. It will all be over soon enough, and then, the axe came crashing down…everything went black…she had suffered enough…she was free…

The End


	2. Part 2- The Reality

**Wonderland- The True Story**

'From the memoirs of Doctor Jonathan Napier August 1865'

**August 18th 1865**

I was awoken in the middle of the night by a loud knocking upon my chamber door. Startled and very confused, I approached with caution. I pulled the door open to see my maid standing before me.

"D-doctor" she said, sounding slightly startled.

"What is it Amelia?" I asked her, it was clearly something of great importance if she had to bother me at such a late hour.

"The police sir!" she told me. "They have a girl! She's covered in blood!"

"I see inform them that I will be down in several minutes!" I replied.

"Of course sir!" she bowed and walked down the stairs which led to my front door. I put on a house coat and made my way down stairs. Standing at my open front door were two police officers and a young girl standing between them.

"Sorry for waking you at such an unreasonable hour!" apologised a very boyish looking officer. "But this girl needs to be taken in immediately!" I looked at the girl. Her hair was blonde and it was draped like curtains on her pale face. She wore a light blue dress with a white pinafore over it. They were both stained with blood.

"Oh…of course!" I said, trying to keep my composure as I looked at this strange sight. I looked to my maid. "Amelia could you get this girl cleaned up!" my maid nodded and she took the young girl away into a room to the right. "Can you tell me what is going on?" I asked the two officers.

"Sorry sir, we've got a lot of work to do!" said the boyish officer, he looked worried.

"Very well! Do you at least know her name?"

"Alice!" said the second, portly and more confident officer. "Alice, Palmer"

"Thank you. Good night officers!" I said to them both. They nodded and walked away. I closed the door behind them.

**August 20th 1865**

That poor child. All I wanted to do was to help her. She was so young. So beautiful. So demented. She arrived two days ago; Doctor Carroll was to soon publish the story to the local newspaper. But he wanted me to study her beforehand. I had to admit, I was fascinated. A young girl went from being seemingly normal and intelligent to murdering her whole family. They were going to put her to death until the Inspector, Lestrade, heard her mumbling something. Something about 'Wonderland'. The things he heard her describe, men with tall hats attending tea parties with mentally insane talking hares, a powerful queen of hearts who ruled with an iron fist over the fictitious land. He knew there was more to this girl and I was thankful for receiving her. For the first two days she said very little, people began to blame substance abuses, they found needles containing strange drug like concoctions inside them. As well as a great deal of chloroform, how she managed to get all of this in two days greatly confused me. However tonight was different, tonight she spoke to me, with enthusiasm.

"It was the only way to save them!" she said to me.

"Save who?" I asked curiously.

"My friends from Wonderland!" there it was, that word 'Wonderland' it was clear that this was a place she escaped to. But why did it need saved?

"And what is Wonderland?" I asked.

"It is a marvellous place doctor! It was a happy place, a place I could go to when I was sad and no one would bother me, I'd be with friends!"

"You say it 'was' happy"

"Until she came!" Alice was suddenly angry. "The Red Queen!"

"She rules over Wonderland doesn't she?" I asked kindly, remembering what the inspector told me.

"She took over Wonderland! She spoiled it all!" tears rolled down her elegant face. "She appeared out of nowhere and took over Wonderland! She had no right!"

"And what do you think this 'Red Queen' represents?" I asked. Alice looked at me.

"What do you mean? She is a tyrant. Nothing more!" she replied.

"Alice you have to know that there is no Wonderland!" I told her sympathetically.

"That's what they said!" Alice exclaimed. "My mother told me not to dwell on dreams!"

"Is that why you killed them?" I asked, hoping I would get an answer.

"No, no, the Caterpillar needed sacrifices it was the only way to repair the Vorpal sword and slay the Jabberwocky!"

"And did this work, did you slay the Jabber-" I tried to recall that name.

"JABBERWOCKY!" She said angrily. "No. The Caterpillar was dead, someone squashed him!"

"Oh"

"We couldn't stop her! And if I go back she'll take my head!"

"Then, simply close the door to Wonderland, don't go back there"

"I have to go back!" young Alice stood up. "I have to save my Wonderland!" she left the room I tried to stop her, I needed to speak to her, but she began to run and after a while I could not find her.

**August 24th 1865**

Another late night knock on the door. I was hopeful. Alice had been missing for four days. I did not wait for the maid to answer the door. I rushed down to the door and opened it. I saw the two officers from six days before.

"Doctor" said the young one. "We need you to come to the morgue, there's been an accident" I was startled and now worried.

"Oh, of course!" I replied. "Just let me get dressed first!"

The morgue was like entering a small box. The doors were all white with drawers to hold the deceased, but there were no windows. The mortician was a fowl looking man, his eyes were magnified by his large circular glasses, his hair was thinning and his back was hunched. He approached a corpse covered in a white cloth. He put his bony hands on the cloth and pulled it back.

"This her?" asked the portly officer. I approached the table which she lay on. There she was. Her pearly eyes now glazed over. A large bloody gashed was spread across her forehead. Her nose was much flatter and her body was bruised. Her mouth was curved, she was, smiling.

"Y-yes" I stuttered. I could not believe my eyes, I wanted to help her, or at least find the answers to explain her 'Wonderland'.

"She was muttering in the streets about a queen, she had a bottle of ale in her hand, she stumbled and hit her head off the pavement" the portly officer began to explain. I held up my hand.

"I-I don't need the gruesome details officer" I told him, disgusted. "Am…am I done here?" the officer nodded.

"We just needed to confirm that it was her" the young officer answered. I turned and left the morgue, feeling as though I failed her…I failed myself, I wanted to understand Wonderland, and I wanted to know how this place which led such a sweet girl to insanity!


End file.
